Owls of Glaux
by Airman0007 - Zarko Elkholm
Summary: "The Pure Ones? A threat? Hah..." He shook his head. "Those owls of the Great Tree are ignorant to the truth. All of that celebration for the end of that 'war', when they're sitting there ready to be the prey of a force that'll do far worse than what the Pure Ones ever would, and would leave no owl alive." At last, he turned to them, grinning, "And you're going to help me stop it."
1. Chapter 1

**And it's here, people! This is a rewrite of my older fanfiction, under the same title. It is currently still up, so read it at your own will, but there may be some spoilers! However, not _EVERYTHING _is going to be the same- some events and plot lines are going to be altered. *Shivers* Been excited to post this, just decided to wait for my birthday, since it was so close! Nonetheless, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Guardians of Ga'hoole; Kathryn Lasky does. I only own my OCs.**

* * *

Ocean_ water._ that's what his ear slits were greeted by when he woke up. It was dead obvious that he was on a beach, though, hinted with the first clue along with the next, being that he felt himself plunged on top of a hot sandy surface, the tiny particles getting stuck between his cream-colored feathers. Though, his strength was weak, little of it felt within his hollow bones. No thoughts flooded his mind- no memories, no outside wonders, none of it. Minutes passed until he finally found the strength to stir, pressing his wings against the sand to lift himself up. As he got onto his feet, he nearly lost his balance, stumbling backwards a few steps, but his feet outraced his body to defy gravity and keep him balanced. His eyes were opening more and more, now, and he could see that it was, in fact, a beach. A gaze to his left would show the sun rising, leaving the sky an orange-ish shade… Or was it sunset, instead?

He shook his head- that didn't matter… His dark, owlish eyes were drawn to the sand again, then down to his feet as he flexed his talons out slowly, one by one. Everything started to flow into his brain. Those hues of his then widened a bit, and turned over his shoulder to look down his back, spotting a large, lengthy scar across the length of his back. That's right, he'd been killed, by… A Great Grey… What had happened, how was the wound that had killed him sealed, and yet he was still alive? The Barn Owl would open his pink beak for a second, but then closing it, not saying a word. His head snapped to the right, noticing a deep, dense forest. He'd turn his body fully in that direction, eyeing the treeline up and down, from floor to the highest leaf. Well… The only way he was going to get answers- and food- was if he searched. Shaking his body, he let the sand fall off before spreading his wings into a flight.

It was almost as if hours had passed, but the sky had been getting more blue than it was black, meaning that it was sometime around early morning. Although he hadn't been too tired, thank Glaux… But why did he feel so different than before? Not his body, but more of his mental state, he felt more calm than before, clear-minded… Off-setting, most definitely, but in a good way. The only part about it that he didn't like was the fact that there were some loopholes in his memory, as if some parts had simply been erased. None of it made sense, and he was sure as hag that he wasn't dead. Glamoura nor Hagsmire would be anything like this. That was for damn sure.

As he landed on a branch, he huffed out. Not a damn vole, rat or anything in sight. Nothing edible. Perhaps he was just too tired and unstable to find anything. Something was off about everything, he could feel it in his gizzard. Once again, a question came to him, his gaze bringing him to look up.

"Where in Glaux's name am I?"

Mere seconds after those words bounced off of his tongue, his sensitive Barn Owl ear slits caught the sound of talon on wood, mixed with the gush of wings catching wind. It was only a mere dozen wingspans from him, in fact. His head would turn to see another owl perched on a different branch- another Tyto Alba in fact. He- as the gender was determined- was unaware of the other's presence, it seemed, although perhaps he could help.

Clearing his throat, he finally spoke, "Exuse me, but do you..."

As the owl turned around, his face was recognized instantly.

"Uglamore...?"

"Your Purene-" Saying this curiously at first, Uglamore's expression suddenly changed. From shock and surprise, to anger and hate. Before the other tyto could speak, Uglamore tackled him down- talons-to-talons though theyfell, both weak, clearly. Landing a few feet from each other on the forest floor, they stumbled up to their feet, wobbling as they faced each other.

"Uglamore!"

"I'm no longer your servant, Metalbeak!"

Again, he'd open his mouth to speak, but dived to the side to avoid a charge from the other being. Either movement was pitiful, but it was clear that they were in similar shape. And once more, they'd both feebly get up, but this time he managed to speak first, panting just from the small action, "S-Stop...! I... I don't know what's wrong..."

Uglamore cocked a brow, despite his own light pants.

"I'm not... I don't feel the same- I don't feel like I am who I am anymore..." He didn't even face him as he spoke, "For Glaux's sake, am I dead in Hagsmire?"

"...We may as well be." This time, Uglamore had spoke calmly for a change, "We're both dead, aren't we?"

Once more, "Metalbeak" would would look over, his shoulder and at the scar across his spine as Uglamore looked over the bite marks of a wolf. This day was getting more and more odd.

"Look, Uglamore..." He'd grab his attention, "Neither of us can fight, clearly- we're starving and shaken. We... We need to work together and figure out what's going on..."

Silence passed.

"Fine, I... I'll trust you for now, Metalbeak..."

"Call me Kludd, Uglamore." Although it was at that moment, Kludd realized, "Metalbeak" didn't even fit anymore: His beak was real and organic again. It even made him smile a little, before he looked to Uglamore again, but the other Tyto beat him to the words.

"We need to find shelter, a hollow maybe. If we can't find food, then we at least need a place to sleep."

"Assuming you won't cut my throat if we do sleep..."

"Hey!" His voice was just above a whisper, "I'm putting my trust in you, and I have no real positive gain in killing you, when I may even get myself killed as well. Let's not get so hateful, now."

Kludd sighed and nodded slowly. He was right; they weren't getting anywhere with such negativity towards each other. Yet one problem still remained, "Where do we start looking, then?"

"Don't think I've ever seen owls preferring to sit at the floor of a forest before."

It was a female voice, and definitely caught both of them off guard. They'd turn their heads upwards, catching the sight of another duo of owls perched above them. One- who seemed to be the female that spoke- was a snowy owl with considerably large amount of black over her feathers, and the other had been a young, simple spotted owl, the pair staring down curiously at the two Barn Owls. After the silence was brought to an end, Uglamore and Kludd had both flown up to perch next to then when branches of two different trees intersected.

"Apologies for that, there was just a bit of an... Incident." It was Uglamore who'd explain this, and Kludd would just nod with a roll of his eyes at this, not caring to say much. It was clear they had just landed when she spoke, though.

The Snowy owl would just nod, eyeing between them cautiously, "Mhmm... And I don't suppose you know where we are?"

Kludd and Uglamore shook their heads. All four gained different but similar expressions of mixed confusion or even distrust.

"Then I guess you're in the same mess we are?" It was Kludd who said that, shifting on his perch.

The Snowy Owl cocked a brow, "If you remember dying and then woke up here, then yes, we are."

Silence fell upon them, hearing nothing but the leaves rustling faintly to the light winds. They'd each take uneasy glances at their surroundings, eyeing the ground and branches as they searched for signs of life, until one spoke up.

"I'm Uglamore." The three other heads snapped to him. "If we're going to be around each other, we should at least all know each other's names."

A nod of agreement came from the other former member of the Pure Ones, "Kludd."

"C-Claymore." That was the first time the Spotted Owl had spoken up, and he seemed to be growing a bit more confidence. "My name's Claymore. Just Clay, for short..."

"A pleasure, Clay." Uglamore nodded. Now the turn to be looked over came to the snowy owl. "And you are...?"

"I prefer to keep my name to myself." She'd narrow her eyes slightly, "You can call me the Roguesmith, for now."

A frown came to Uglamore, but he nodded, easing up a bit. "We need to figure out what's going on..."

"I'm pretty sure we're dead." That was Clay, fidgeting on his perch, "I'm certain I died when I crashed into a rock, I remember the momentary pain and then just... Black."

"The kid's got a point." A snort went off from the Roguesmith, leaning back a bit, "We all remember dying, and we ended up here. I got pushed into my own forge, he rammed himself face-first into a boulder, and..." She'd grove a shrug of her wings at Uglamore and Kludd, "And whatever happened to you two." Say, that barn owl with the scar across his spine seemed familiar...

Kludd thought something similar of her. Where had he seen her before...? Roguesmith, maybe somewhere in... Silverveil? His memory was still a bit dead, but no matter, he spoke up now, "But do any of you remember anything before we woke up and after we each died?"

"Nope."

"Not a thing."

"Don't think so."

This time it was Kludd that frowned at the responses, but he nodded. "No clues on that note..."

"Honestly, there's no other explanation." Once again the Roguesmith spoke up. "We're dead, let's face it. This is either Glamoura or Hagsmire."

"Oh, for Glaux's sake, stop all of the frinkin' 'we're dead' racdrops."

Now that was a new voice. All eyes turned outward and up to a branch a tree away and a foot or so higher. It was another owl, this one having grey and blueish-grey feathers and a change of hue across different points of his body, black talons gripped to his perch firmly. His wings had black patterns across them, with darkened areas at the ends of them. The disk of his face held dark spots across it, all the same shade but different and darker than the actual face itself. What was even more off-setting, was the fact that his eyes were a faintly glowing light blue.

"You're alive. I can tell you that's for damn sure. Otherwise you wouldn't be starving, confused, and, well... You'd be in a bit different of a scenario."

The four seemed dumbstruck, staring at him as they remained in place. It was hard to find the words to say, until- as usual- Uglamore was the first to speak up. "Who are you?"

"I can tell you later. Right now, I want you four to come with me."

"Now..." The Roguesmith spoke up, grabbing this unknown owl's attention. "Why should we trust you when we don't even know who you are, or what's going on?"

He cocked a brow momentarily. "You're not saying your name, either." Shaking his head, his gaze went to all of them. "Why should you come with me? Because I have food, shelter, and answers. So if you want to come with me, fly in behind me. If not... Then a bloody waste, you made of yourself." He turned his back, looking over his shoulder. "For Glaux's sake, I didn't bring you back from the dead just to torture you or kill you again."

At this, he spread his wings and was off, flying straight through the trees. Seconds passed after his departure when Claymore took off after him. Uglamore glanced at the other two still with him before following suit, not far behind the spotted owl. That left Kludd and the Roguesmith. A second after Uglamore, Kludd took air and flew a couple of yards forwards before turning around to face the Roguesmith. "You coming?"

She grumbled something under her breath, then rolled her eyes before signing and lifting off, in which Kludd had turned and continued flying, knowing she'd follow.

* * *

As Kludd made his way into the hollow, he caught sight of Clay and Uglamore settling down near a dark steel bowl, filled with burning coals and embers that warmed up the hollow as a fire burned up within that bowl. Not only that, but a line of voles and mice were hanging from a bar propped up over the heat source. When entering completely, he could hear the Roguesmith's steps behind him to make her way in with them. Over in the far side of the hollow, the strange grey owl was writing along some parchment, rather quickly before drying off the talon he'd use to write.

"Help yourself to the food."

That was enough for them, as they'd all work to get a cooked rodent, each of them working on their food hungrily. The stranger didn't even turn back to look at them as he worked, hauling items and bags around effortlessly and silently. And at last, he'd finish up, sighing gently as he stood, moving to the fire, across from the four.

"I apologize for this. I figured it was better for me to let you all find each other before I came along." He'd explain, giving a light flap of his wings before folding them, causing the fire to surprisingly die out a bit. "The food satisfy your hunger?"

Once more had silence came, despite the tearing of the meat by beak and talon. Clay slowly nodded, "Yeah, it... It's good." He said silently, before the blue-eyed owl churred gently.

"Well, the food was one reason you came here, the other was shelter, so third... I owe some answers, don't I?"

Now Kludd spoke, "You do, but... Can you tell us who you are?"

"That I can."

Giving a gust of his wings again, he put out the fire completely, making sure it was gone completely.

"Zarko Elkholm. That's my name." He folded his wings as he said this, taking his eyes off of where the fire used to be. "I don't have a defined species of owls, as I'm not truly an owl. I just took the form of one. Don't ask what I am, because I can't answer that."

That was rather blunt of him. None of the four new what say to him. Kludd ground his beak together a bit. 'Not truly an owl? Well... That would explain the eyes and feather color...' Shaking his head, he perked up a bit, "What happened to us?"

"The four of you died. And I brought you back."

"...How?" Was the response of four voices in unison, speaking silently and confused. This cracked a slight smirk to the edges of Zarko's beak.

"Glaux let me. He used up his own power to bring you- of my own choice- back and help us." He straightened his stance. "Yes, Glaux himself brought you back. Don't mistake me for some insanely devoted believer, because I'm not." Grumbling at this, he walked around them, sighing silently. "I'll be honest with you: I brought you back to train you and fight, but in the end, you can see and live with your families and friends. All of you."

He started to name them off as he stopped at each one.

"Kludd. Some might call you Metalbeak, but Metalbeak and Kludd are two different owls. Kludd is the older brother of Soren, one of the best guardians in Ga'Hoole. Metalbeak is the shattered mind of Kludd as an egg and helped lead the Pure Ones, waging war towards the Great Tree of Ga'Hoole in the philosophy that only Tytos were "Glaux's favorite". Kludd never lived, but that'll change."

The news was quite surprising to the group, especially Kludd himself. 'I was... Shattered?' That made a bit of sense... As to why his mind felt a bit more free-focused. Why he felt so much more normal... But at that point, Zarko was already up to Uglamore.

"Uglamore. Formerly known as Bartholomew. As a hatchling, you envied the Tytonic Union and became a part of them when the High Tyto named you Uglamore. As Nyroc- now known as Coryn, Embered Monarch of the Great Tree- grew up, you became like an uncle to him as he lived with the remnants of the Pure Ones. When he ran away, you followed him with the rest of the Pure Ones, only to save his life and allow for him to become the king of the great tree. You even went as far as to sacrifice your own life for him by taking a bite from a diseased wolf. Without you, Coryn would not be alive."

The only thing that caught Uglamore off guard was the mention of his hatch name. Other than that, he seem to be lost in thought, remembering what had happened. Already, the elder owl was off to the next in line.

"The Roguesmith of Silverveil." Zarko seemed to narrow his eyes. She was looking at him, unlike Kludd and Uglamore had been. "Your real name is Thora Plonk, sister of Madam Plonk in the Great Tree." And at that, she seemed to wince a little, but Zarko smiled- not in a teasing or evil manner, but more of a reassuring one. "When you and your sister parted ways, you traveled as a roguesmith as one normally would. You met Soren and his friends when they were younger, easily looped through helping the Pure Ones with their assault on the Great Tree, and after the death of Metalbeak, you continued your work. Although, you, with another roguesmith, kept thought and mention on Nyroc- once again, now named Coryn- during his time in hiding with the Pure Ones. However, before he retrieved the Ember from the Beyond, you were shoved into your own forge by Nyra. Yet there is so much more I have in store for you."

The Roguesmith's eyes- or, Thora's eyes, rather, had drifted downwards as this was said, eventually staring at his feet, though he merely reached a talon upwards against her beak, making her face him before he'd smile once again and nod, before moving to the last owl.

"Claymore of Firthmore. There's not much explaining that needs to be done- you're the older brother of Cleve. According to sources, you were supposed to be the prince that was promised. Although, it was mistaken that by bigger it meant size, not age. You may have been not as brilliant as Cleve, or have claimed the destiny of prince, but I'm going to turn you into something so much better."

This owl grinned at Clay, nodding his head before looking to the rest, walking around.

"What lies ahead for the owl kingdoms is death and doom, right after a spark of peace. A war is coming between the kingdoms and the Pure Ones, and the Guardians with the help of the kingdoms will succeed... But at the cost of Coryn's life." A sigh left his beak, before turning to them, wings folded tight against his sides. "It weakens those of the Great Tree, a perfect time for the true enemy to strike."

"The... True enemy?" Uglamore had mumbled in a light voice. He was confused rather than intimidated.

"The Pure Ones... They're merely Nyra's cover-up. A bunch of arrogant Tytos? A joke. Once they fall, something much, much worse will strike at the least expected of times. When the Great Tree is weak, something much worse will come, and it'll be the end of it all. We're going to change that. Re-write history."

"And how do you know all of this?" Thora inquired, standing a bit.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is, your families and ones you care about are in danger. And we're going to do what we can by saving as many as possible."

Zarko sighed, shaking his head once more before turning around, moving to his parchment.

"I'm going to train you four. That's something I usually wouldn't do, but if I'm bringing you back to life, then you might as well learn to fight."

"Zarko, sir or whatever..." Once more Uglamore used his voice, now standing above the others. "I already know to fight, I'm a soldier."

"I'm not training you to fight like a soldier." The grey one spoke without even turning his head back to them. "I'm going to train you to fight like me, or yourselves. A soldier is as good as the next. With you four, you'll need to be better."

Again he wiped off his talon, walking to them as he hopped down to their level.

"We start in a day or two. For now I want you to get settled in and comprehend what's going on, get to know each other. You can find hollows not far from here, find one and make it your home. I don't care if you all sleep in the same one or different. This isn't a school and nor is it an academy, there's no rules, just don't kill each other nor run off. I'll tell you more about what's going on another time. Got it?"

A few delayed nods and words of acknowledgement came from them as they stood. Smiling, a returning no came from Zarko before he looked to Clay. He moved off to the side and grabbed a bag, then handing it to the young spotted owl. "What's this?

As he took it, Zarko explained, "A few books, history you should catch up on since you passed earlier than the rest. Things are different." Clay put the bag over his back evenly between his wings, Zarko gave one more glance to the others that were leaving. "I won't require you to come back here for a few days, but you can if you want. I'll be here. Just don't try and leave."

In response, they again gave their approval before exiting the hollow.

Kludd spread his wings, flying off with a hard-hitting headache. The early day sky shone above him as he made his way to find a hollow. One last thought hit him, though:

_'What have I gotten into?'_


	2. Chapter 2

At last the moon had come out in its full shape over the starry, cloudless night. The almost soundless forest held still as time flowed through it, brightened in the lunar lights shining across it.

Kludd slowly opened his eyes slowly, bewildered slightly to find himself in an empty hollow, until the confusion faded as memory sparked through his brain.

_'So it wasn't a dream...'_

He'd move the exit of his hollow to see the mysterious white orb in the sky, watching it move by sight at the fastest of speeds but look slower than a slug from a mile away. The reflection upon his dark hues made it seem like he had whites in his eyes, when he didn't. It was the first time he had absolute control over himself, so it'd also been the first time he would have actually taken the time to think about the wonders of beyond the owl world. That moon, what was it? Some sort of sorcery? Every night it's come up, then the sun would come up during the day, and there were also those stars among the dark sky.  
If only there were answers...

"Kludd?"

Uglamore. Kludd turned to find the older barn owl on another branch. That struck him, that Uglamore was older now. Kludd died at a younger age than Uglamore, and they were reborn at the same age they died, which made himself younger now. "I'm awake... What is it?"

Spreading his wings, Uglamore swooped downwards them back up in a perfect under-arc to land next to Kludd. "Glad I found you so easily... Guess this place is smaller than I thought." Sighing, he shook his head, "Since we're both awake, I gotta ask you... What are your thoughts on all of this? Do you think this 'Zarko' is telling the truth?"

He paused upon this question, before looking up at the sky then to him again. "One thing we can't deny is that he brought us back from the dead. He even knew more personal things as to who we are."

"I can't argue with that, but are we what he claimed we are, or are we hostages? I mean, he emphasized 'do not try to leave.'"

"Are you thinking about leaving?"

"Maybe I am, I don't know..." Uglamore watched the forest floor, scanning the scenery. "But we don't even know where we are. I don't recall any forest being as quiet as this."

"I think we may be on an island." Kludd murmured out, "I woke up on a beach, and the sun was setting on the west side over the water, I don't think there's any places known that are like that."

"That'd make sense, since he seems keen on being isolated." Uglamore couldn't help but grumble something else to himself, turning away. "I'm sorry, I'm just... Not used to this."

"Used to what?"

Uglamore turned his head back to him.

"Treating you as an equal. You used to be my leader, we used to fight for the Tytonic Unuion. It's... Different, all of the sudden. I mean, to think you were shattered?" He shook his head. "Never would have guessed."

"Wait a minute..." Kludd blinked, before gazing up at him as a thought came to him. "Then... Who caused me to be shattered?"

Now it was Uglamore's turn to blink. Kludd was right on that. Who?

"That 'true enemy,' maybe, or Nyra?"

"I guess those are possibilities..." Sighing out, Kludd aligned himself upright, looking at the stars once more. "I think I might go talk to him."

"Zarko?"

The younger barn owl nodded.

"Then I'll go with you."

"Now?"

"Why not?"

* * *

Zarko's hollow hadn't been far; only a few minutes had passed before the two were there. It was, though, easily spotted as a hole in the decently-sized tree with lighting inside of it. Both of the barn owls settled right outside, and their sensitive ear slits heard it- voices inside.

"...he's become a pacifist since then. He's living life well, even made some trips to the Great Tree."

They'd enter to see Zarko and Clay, the spotted owl's back turned to them. Zarko's eyes darted to them, but then back to the one in front of him.

"Your brother is out of harm's way for now. You'll see him again, don't worry." His attention went back to the two that were entering. "Kludd, Uglamore, I see you decided to come to me. What questions do you have?"

Claymore had looked back at the two before stepping aside out of the way between them and Zarko. The pair made their way further inside, settling in as they looked to him. The first to speak had been Kludd. "Where are we?"

Zarko churred. "An island along the outskirts of Southern Kingdoms. No other owl inhabits this place- maybe rodents, bears, or other wild creatures, but nothing that could really matter too much."

So Kludd was right.

"I'm sorry to keep bombarding you with questions," Uglamore budded in, "But why exactly are we alive again."

"Oh, I don't mind the questions, not at all." He's shake his head. "Nonetheless, I'll explain it more clearly than last time: We're going to be fighting the Pure Ones. While they're focused on reforming and recruiting, as well as plotting again the Great Tree, we'll sneaking up on them, killing what we can."

"So we're fighting against the Pure Ones. And you said that Coryn would die...?"

"Yes, and we're going to stop that. When the War of the Ember comes, we'll join in and assault them from behind. Right now, though, I want to focus on getting you three, as well as Thora, settled in and acquainted." Then, he seemed to blink and look off into nothingness. "Speaking of which... Now I'm wondering what Thora is up to."

"Should we go speak with her?" Clay suggested, stepping forwards, but Zarko held up a wing with a chuckle.

"No, it'd be a bit awkward for all of us to show up in front of her out of nowhere. You two should speak to each other." His head nodded between Uglamore and Claymore, the two exchanging glances towards each other. "In fact, head southeast from here, that's a good hunting area. I'll go seek out the Roguesmith, though I want Kludd to come with me. I need to speak with him."

Now it had been Kludd's turn to look over at him, head tilted and eyes flashing shut and open once. Hesitantly, both Clay and Uglamore stepped out as they turned their heads, taking off. A short silence took place before the blue-eyed owl moved out to the exit, gesturing for Kludd to follow. "Follow me." And he did just that with a nod, taking flight right behind him. Zarko had started to take him in a general direction, seeming as if he almost knew where she was. A minute or so of flying had passed, often landing on branches as he glanced around, before taking off again. "Stay close."

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I'd mentioned to you all that you'd be able to live with whatever family or friends you have left." The two landed on another branch. "And I'm going to make certain that'll happen for you, too."

"And what's so different with me?"

"Kludd." They landed on another branch, pausing this time as he turned to the smaller owl. "You used to be Metalbeak, an owl that everyone despised. An owl whose death marked a setback for the Pure Ones. Do you honestly think they'd realize that's not who you are anymore? No, they need to be convinced. And I'm going to do what I can." And then they took off once more, both of them.

"And what if you can't get the truth into them?"

He sighed. "Then I've failed you, and chances of the Great Tree's survival will greatly reduce."

"Wait wait, what?" Kludd turned to him and stared as they landed again. Zarko's beak opened, ready to speak until the faint sound of a female's voice talking to herself became clear. Closing his chops, the old owl nodded slowly at Kludd before flying a tree or two down at a hollow's entrance, the barn owl following right behind.

He'd been looking in when he spoke. "Thora?"

Kludd could even see her turn to them both. Those eyes of hers seemed to blink before narrowing. "Yes?"

"I merely thought I'd check up on you. I want to make sure you have no... Problems, with everything going on." The words were spoken in an honest manner, thankfully the tone not being mistaken so it didn't seem suggestive. Nonetheless, he stepped into the hollow. "In addition, I also apologize if I'm being intrusive."

The snowy owl continued to stare at him as Kludd joined them inside. "Of course there's a problem."

"Which is?"

"Everything right now!" She held out her wings, "I'm dead, don't know where I am, and all of the sudden have some weird, blue-eyed owl telling me what to do!"

A churr emitted from him, smiling at the edges of his beak. "You're not dead, your somewhere safe, and I'm someone who, believe it or not, already cares for keeping you and the other three alive and trained."

"You keep saying that..." Kludd muttered under his breath from behind him, catching their attention. "That you're going to train us, but we don't even know what kind of training or where it's coming from all of the sudden."

Silence fell over them- Kludd had a point. Or, at least, in Zarko's mind he did.

"Tell you both what..." He started softly, glancing between them. "Keep calm, stay on this island, get to know each other, and I'll handle everything else until I need you. I'll help you all get in shape for fighting- as I said, when I'll need you- and care for your mental health and thoughts when you need it." His stance straightened a bit, giving another faint smile. "I swear it, though: I am a friend, and I have no intention to harm anyone close to you, or you yourselves. Understand?"

Kludd nodded, then Thora did the same, although more hesitantly than the other. A returning mod came before he stood tall once more, sigh out before turning to the exit, leaving without a word, right past Kludd and out the hole. Once more, it was quiet, before the female broke it open. "Good Glaux, he's going to take some getting used to..."

Turning to her, he gave a slow nod, the two now alone. He just stared for a moment, but finally getting the will to speak. "I can't wrong you on that." This earned a raised brow from the snowy owl, but she gave a shrug of her wings, having no real response. Then, he continued. "My name's Kludd."

"I know. We've met."

"Before we came here?"

She nodded, "You wanted me to forge battle claws for the Pure Ones during the Siege of the Great Tree."

Thora was right- he even remembered it now: They both had been acquainted during that time, ages ago. "The Roguesmith of Silverveil... That's right..."

"Mhmm... Since Zarko here claims that you were shattered, I have a slight bit of trust for you."

Turning, she walked elsewhere in the hollow.

"Doesn't mean I'd put my life in your talons."

* * *

**I apologize for the delay! I actually have had this done for a long while now but I didn't upload it until now. Hope you enjoyed it!**

**Orion Weiss - Thanks!~**

**Rain That Falls At Dawn** **\- Most of my writing comes straight from the emotion and imagery. Something I like to do personally is visualize the scene like a movie or like you're there as it happens and then describe what would happen. I try to right things out with the dialect and such when needed. Another important thing I try to avoid lately is to never have two or more sentences start with the same word in a paragraph. And if you feel like a verb is being used too much, find a synonym for it!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Kludd."

He stirred with a grumble, clenching his eyes.

"Get up, Kludd."

His eyes cracked open slightly, twilight flooding through the circular entrance of his hollow with a figure standing in it. Starting to blink a few times, he slowly got them halfway open, trying to adjust to the light. "Wha...?"

"It's been three days since you've come here. It's time to start training."

Finally, the voice came to him- Zarko again. After three days he still was getting used to that smooth yet almost gritty voice. And his words had been pretty clear- this was the day that he started training. It made him think, though, as to what might be the style of training Zarko had ready for them. He said something about fighting better than a soldier... It was a wonder how this was going to turn out.

Kludd stretched out his wings with a groan as he awoke before looking again at the dark frontside of Zarko, the color drowned out by the sky behind him, but his blue eyes glowed slightly. His sight adjusted so he could see the full form of the owl, who gave a faint smile. "I hope my intrusion wasn't too rude."

"No, no, you're fine..." The barn owl mumbled, still a bit groggy. Truth be told, he'd been sleeping rather well for some reason. Still, he walked towards the larger male, looking into those hues, "What are we gonna be doing?"

"First off, gonna eat." A soft churr came from him, moving out of his way. "I'm not gonna be some hardcore mentor that'll try and kill you, but what's gonna be done over time is gonna hurt nevertheless. Come on; I've already awoken the others."

* * *

"We're gonna start off easy."

The five owls stood on a tree stump- a darn big one, though. It was maybe about thirty wingspans wide in an almost perfect circle, the wood along the top smooth as ever. Little sheds of bark still stood tall and upright along areas of the diameter of the stump. Against one of the tall stands of the tree's remaining shell was a rack of weapons, battle claws and swords alike. In the center were five sand-stuffed dummies in the shapes of owls

Zarko turned around to face them, making eye contact with each pair of their own hues. "I want to see how you fight- your form in attack, how you fight, what needs to be changed, what needs to be learned... You get the deal. Take some battle claws, a sword, or both if you want."

"Swords?" Thora seemed to cock a brow as she approached the rack before anyone else did. She's pick up one of them, inspecting the piece of metalwork over.

"Mhmm. Most owls don't use them anymore, but there's advantages and disadvantages between swords and battle claws. Battle claws are fast and efficient, but being on your talons, you have to get close. Swords are bigger and longer, so it'll make bigger wounds and will hit the enemy before their battle claws reach you. Of course, though, it'll be a bit slower due to the weight, and you have a chance of dropping it. Personally? I usually take both, one in either talon. It gives a more situational advantage. Only bad thing about it is that you'll only have one foot to grab things."

After this explanation, Thora reached and took just what he said- battle claws with a sword. Kludd went in next, getting the very same as her. Beside himself, though, he noticed Clay taking up some battle claws, but no sword. It seemed as if he'd rather take up the less size.

"Good." Zarko nodded after all four of them held the gear. Everyone had as the larger owl had used, except for Claymore, of course. "First, I want to see Kludd." A wing pointed to him, then to one of the targets. "Show me how you would fight."

So, he was first. His gaze moved from him and to the dummy, stepping closer away from the line he and the others were in. As he got to it, he looked over it's form, bottom to top. An offensive posture was taken, wings spread and body low before he sprang, sword cutting into the target's side and battle claws in the troso. Just as the target fell, another figure flew in behind it- an owl, and a large one.

"WOAH!"

Kludd lost his balance and fell off of his talons, back now hugging the ground as he'd stare up at the large owl that just flew in over them, wings spread directly in front of him. It was a male, he could tell, with light grey feathers and a black color around the disk of his face. The insides of his wings had the same pattern, and a silver mask covered the upper half of his face, excluding his fiery orange eyes. His gaze was staring down at him with a deadly sharpness to his pupils.

As he struggled to get up, Clay, Thora and Uglamore had all rushed towards the two, ready to fight- but a familiar blue-eyed owl landed between them, wings spread at both sides. "Enough!"

The shout echoed out with a commanding roughness in Zarko's voice, glancing between both before giving a sigh, folding his wings at his sides and giving a nod over to this new owl.

"Alterran."

He nodded back, "Zarko."

"What brings you here, brother?"

"News." The new owl named Alterran said simply, "Pure One forces are starting to reform. Nyra will be making her way for the Book of Kreeth soon."

"Can you retrieve it?"

He shook his head this time, "It's in Trader Mags' possession, and if we bought it from her and left a counterfeit, she'd probably tell Nyra. If we bought it and that's it, Mags would also tell them about us and we'd become a target."

A sigh came from Zarko, lowering his gaze. "Glaux damn it... Is there any chance of sneaking in and leaving the wrong book?"

"It's... Risky." The owl with the fiery orange eyes admitted, "But possible."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take: We need that book to be safely with us."

"Ahem..."

The two turned their gaze, seeing the other four standing there and staring, clearly waiting to be informed and addressed. Zaeko turned to them at last.

"Kludd, Clay, Thora, Uglamore." He'd nod to each one of them. "This is Alterran, my brother."

"...You have a brother?"

"More than one!" Another voice came out, this time from above them. Perched on the broken top of what left there was of the tree's bark was another owl, covered in reddish-brown feathers with highlights of black. His form was larger than normal, a large frame of almost one who'd be a powerhouse.

And then another voice. "There's four of us as siblings." This voice was a bit more accented, like a touch of Krakish to it. He stood on the opposite of the reddish-brown one, feathers soaked in shades of tan, cream and brown, darker spots over his body. It seemed as if he held some features of spotted or masked owls, almost, with silvery-gray eyes.

"Reiden, Alcrus." Zarko nodded to each of them in the order that they spoke, "Good to see you both. Any other news?"

"A group of Pure Ones have set up camp in the Shadow Forest. They stand about twenty owls strong." Redden explained, but Alcrus just remained there- he didn't seem to have anything."

A single nod came from the owl with cerulean eyes, before his gaze turned to Alterran at his side, "I want you to focus on the book. We'll take care of that camp sometime in the near future. Once you get that book, hide it somewhere safe." Then he looked to his other two brothers, "Do what you can on setting things up for us in the Beyond. When the War of the Ember comes, we'll need to be ready and prepared to have the upper talon. Do what you deem necessary."

And with that, three owls flew off, just like that. No goodbyes, no family reunion, nothing. They'd just left as they came, and didn't even say much to the other four. Kludd step forwards behind Zarko as they left, "What was that about...?"

Zarko kept gazing after his brothers, "I have three brothers- Alterran, Reiden and Alcrus. They have other things to do right now, though; their job is out there, mine is with you four." He'd look back at Kludd and nod, before turning to the rest. "Now we can begin."

* * *

The night was nearing its end. The sun was on the edge of the horizon that was hidden by the forest trees. Kludd stayed on his own, perched on a branch as he had a few nights ago, only real difference being time and where he was, as he'd not been near his hollow this time. Once more he was trying to think on the situation, thinking over everything. What was happening with his family? Soren, and Eglantine? They were at the Great Tree, he knew that much, but... Were they alright? So many questions, so few answers. That's all he could do lately, was ask. There was no telling, because Zarko knew it all.

The sound of wing beats caught his ear slits, in which he turned his head to spot a familiar spotted owl flapping his wings, landing besides him a few seconds later. "Hey, Kludd."

"Clay?" With a blink he'd say, "What brings you here?"

"It's been awhile since I've had an actual conversation with anyone." He admitted, shaking his feathers, "That, and, maybe we should get to know each other. I mean, we're probably going to be stuck together for awhile, and all I know about you is your name and relation to the Pure Ones."

He had a point there. From what Kludd could see, the male was a little younger than him. "I guess so..."

"I came from the Northern Kingdoms." Clay said rather suddenly to him, smiling at the edges of his beak. "I grew up as the 'prince that was promised' with my family. My brother, Cleve, actually turned out to be the one instead, as Zarko told me. He was always better at most things, especially flying, but smarts?" He churred, "I often called him WPB- wet pooper brains."

Kludd couldn't help but churr as well with a faint smile of his own, eyes looking down a bit. "I had a brother as well, a younger one..." With a sigh, he'd shut his eyes. "Soren was his name, he's a guardian at the Great Tree, and my much younger sister Eglantine is there, too. I was actually just thinking about them before you came here..." Shaking his head, he looked to the brightening sky. "Since I was shattered, I wasn't really a proper brother back then, but he was a naive one- always asking questions, falling in love with the stories of the Owls of Ga'Hoole..."

"Hah, seems like quite the owl back then, it's too bad you weren't able to get to know him..." Thoughts seemed to be drifted through Clay's head, taking a moment to speak again. "Zarko told me that Cleve became a pacifist after I died. Maybe he could tell you about Soren as well."

"Maybe..."

The two carried on with their conversation, but as morning drew, they were unaware of the two owls perched far above them, both pairs of eyes gazing- one set a glowing dark azure, and the other a fiery orange.

"How much did you tell them?"

"I only told them what they needed to know, Alterran."

"You know that they're going to start learning things."

"That I do." Zarko nodded, "But right now they don't need to know it. I need them to trust me- trust us. The dark truth will scare you off from a stranger. The dark truth, however, will merely be an understanding to a good friend."

"True enough. However, you promised them that you would be able to live with their families. Are you really going to do that?"

A silence came between the two brothers, and Zarko looked to the other, "I picked these four for a reason. Not only did they have the potential for this, but they deserved better and longer lives. While Uglamore may not have much family to return to, perhaps he could return to Coryn. Thora could go to Brunwella, and Clay will reunite with Cleve. As for Kludd..." He'd frown, eyes setting themselves back on the two owls below. "I will do everything in my power to give him the chance to see his sister and brother, and meet his son and three nieces. I'll find a way to show Kludd's innocence to them all. I'll make a gain for the four of them in the end."

"And can you even be certain that all of them will live to the end?"

"..." Again, no words came in response at first. "...I can't be certain that they'll live." His head lowered slightly, never looking off of the talking owls below. "All I can do is protect them and make sure they aren't into too great of a risk."

Alterran nodded at this. "Then let's hope and pray your hopes and prayers are answered."


	4. Chapter 4

_Out of no where he was staring at the flat land of grass covered in ash and burning wood, with not a tree left standing. He wasn't even perched on a tree, in fact- he was standing upon the ground. The sky was a red-ish orange, dark clouds passing by the sea out in the distance. The map in his head was unmarked, telling him nothing of what happened to lead up to this moment._

Soren looked at his feet, confused as to where he was, or what had happened. He couldn't even remember how he'd gotten to this point. More specs of ash were falling like rain, costing over the grass and his feathers, making him almost look like a hybrid of a barn and spotted owl. His black, eyes blinked before hairs of his feathers stood up slightly, hearing the sound of burning. When he turned around, his mind almost went blank.

There it was, the Great Tree some ways off, maybe about a mile from where he was. Almost every leaf was gone, burned to ash as the flames from the wood across it would cast a red glow across the world. Whatever leafs had been left had been melted to the ash that drifted over him. He could see owls all over it- some flying, some landed. Most were either covered in blood or ash, wandering the destruction or next to a fallen owl, crying or tending to the wounded. And not only that, but he could see a lone owl near the base of the tree, digging graves- hundreds of holes in the ground.

"No..." A whisper came, face starting to change to a mixture of fear and worry. His wings spread as he took off at full speed. "NO!"

"Soren! Soren, wake up!"

Soren's eyes snapped open as heavy breaths rushed in and out of his legs, trying to let the breath catch up to him and fill his lungs. Pelimore was at his side, attempting to calm him. The nerves in his brain stopped screaming, eyes wide in shock as his heaving decreased to a more steady pace.

"Great Glaux, Soren... You were yelling and screaming like life itself was gone!"

Looking at his mate, Soren blinked a little, "Just... Just a daymare... Is Coryn up? I need to talk with him."

Pelimore gave him a quizzical look but answered, "I saw him earlier today. You slept through twilight, and I was getting a bit worried, so I came back here..."

For a moment, Soren looked around before lowering his voice, "Did the three B's hear?"

"They didn't, no; they're out with their chaws."

"Alright... Good..." Soren nodded a little, moving to leave the hollow, "I'm going to go see Coryn- love you, Peli."

As he flew out, Pelimore couldn't help but frown. "Hm... That's strange..."

_A few minutes later..._

"You saw... What...?"

Soren nodded. "It might have been a daymare... Or it could have been the starsight, I don't know. But it felt unlike a dream, it was... Almost real. I felt everything, controlled myself, it was like all of it was really happening."

Coryn didn't speak at first, staring at his uncle. "We can change that, can't we...? If we beat the Pure Ones?"

"I... Maybe, I don't know..." With a sigh, Soren placed a wing on his nephew's shoulder. "I'm just as scared as you are..."

At the same time, Soren couldn't stop thinking to himself about such a topic- was it really his starsight, or just an unusually real daymare? It wasn't like a dream where he just saw things happen and was along for the ride, but more like a reality. He was controlling his own actions, and he knew it. No dream would have been so real... But, his starsight wasn't like that normally- those kind of dreams weren't like actual dreams. That, and, there wasn't anything with the power that could put a vision in his head... Could there?

"Soren... I think we need to keep this between us." Coryn made eye contact dead on with him, "I don't think we should worry people with this: The return of the Pure Ones is already getting people afraid or worked up, and I don't think we should let this be known so publicly with debates and arguments over something you saw in your sleep."

"I understand, don't worry." His expressions, ironically, turned a bit more worried, "We should stay on alert and ready though..."

"We should."

A sudden flap of wings and the sound of talons on wood caught the duo's attention as they nearly whirled around to the hollow entrance, but it was only a messenger.

"Your highness...?" It didn't seem as if he'd heard anything.

"What is it?"

Making his way in and stopping before Soren and Coryn, he'd offer a scroll to the monarch. "A report from our scouts came across a camp occupied by the Pure Ones in Shadow Forest." He explained this as Coryn and Soren read over it.

"Tell the scouts to keep an eye on them."

"I'm afraid that'd be pointless."

"Come again...?" Soren asked as both barn owls looked up at the messenger and away from the parchment, simultaneously blinking.

Clearing his throat, the messenger explained. "They told me to bring this to you directly because not only were there about five or six squads around the area, but all of them were found dead. None of the Guardians attacked them, and the bodies are fresh. Someone else did it."

It took both of them a moment to register this, before Coryn would have dismissed him, in which the owl left, leaving them, once again, alone.

"Coincidence?"

"Most likely case." Soren had shrugged his wings as he turned to his nephew. "If not, it might mean that something worse than the Pure Ones is coming... Somehow, I feel like that isn't possible..."

* * *

The Pure Ones at the camp had been massacred. Bodies hung over the trees, laid over the grounds and rested in the hollows. Most of the corpses were still masked, cuts and gashes along their torsos and limbs. There was even one hanging, maw open with a sword through its beak and stuck on the wood of the tree behind him. Another corpse was missing an entire wing, and another with part of the neck detached from the body. The tree bark along the entire camp had strains and splatters of blood near the bodies. And that was only a few notable mentions.

In other words, it was a bloody mess.

Aysen ("A-sen" being the proper pronunciation), one of the scouts and a Guardian, hovered above the decimated camp of Pure Ones, trying to figure out what had happened. The white-faced scopes owl was young, maybe about the age of twenty for a human. Two pairs of battle claws hung over his talons with his silver Guardian's mask over his face. The usual black spots covered his body, but the majority of his form was white. Those golden eyes of his had also continued to scan about the perimeter, and carefully.

"Great Glaux..."

"Aysen!"

It was the captain of his scouting crew, a great horned owl.

"Yes, sir?"

"Stop stalling and get your tail feathers down here, lass!" The bigger owl called out gruffly from a branch, sounding rather impatient. Seconds passed before he corrected himself. "Lad."

Merely rolling his eyes, Aysen flew down to the source of his captain's voice. He was a newer addition to this team, so he hadn't been known that well. Why did he call him a "lass", though? Simple: Aysen was rather feminine for a male owl, having the size and shape to somewhat resemble a female, but still with a few slight male traits. Thank Glaux, though, his voice was at least somewhat masculine. Somewhat.

"Sir?" Aysen landed near him, awaiting orders. The captain just grumbled under his breath, turning to him.

"We need to see what we can gather. The commander's hollow is over there." He'd point a talon to a tree some ways off, "Grab any documents you can find. Maybe we can find out if they had any other enemies that did this to them."

Wordlessly, the white-faced gave a nod of acknowledgement, spreading his wings for a moment before pausing. "Where're the others?"

"Scouting around the perimeter, looking for survivors, searching other hollows. And it'd bloody help if you were actually doing something instead of staring at it all. Our job is to scout and report, not sightsee."

"Hmph..." Shaking his head, he turned and again spread his wings. "...And captain?"

"What?"

"I'm a male, and don't forget it."

The great horned owl merely cast him a death glare, which Aysen returned without hesitation. And with that, he took off.

The two had only known each other for the past couple of weeks, as that's been the amount of time Aysen had been with this team. And they hated each other for two weeks, simple as that. Alas, they still had to do their jobs as needed, as much as he hated his captain... He was a good owl, don't get him wrong, but he's often rude, gruff and uncaring. That's usually thing that pisses Aysen off. That, and the confusion of his gender.

He was at the hollow in moments, immediately coming across some more bloodied corpses. Tytos laid over different spots of the floor, pools of blood under them. Part of it made his gizzard twist, feeling as if he's need to yarp a pellet from this. Nonetheless, he continued, seeing a table of papers and documents. Perhaps this would provide answers... His eyes read across the currently opened parchment.

_Lord Nyra,_

The areas of Shadow Forest have been silent. The past few months have shown little presence of the Guardians and nothing unusual between the impure families. At this rate, we should be able to send reinforcements to any attack force-

Aysen tossed the parchment aside. Nothing is use. The reinforcements didn't matter now, since they were all dead. And, skimming ahead, he was in the middle of writing this when they were attacked. He took out another scroll from the side, opening it.

_Lord Nyra,_

We've been setting up in this new encampment well. Your soldiers have gotten familiar with their surroundings and have begun their scouting runs for any resistance in the area and have found nothing-

Useless. All of these were copies of documents sent away from the camp and to others, like Nyra herself. He scanned the room before spotting a corpse of what he assumed was the commander, with a scroll in his talons. That one had to be important...

_Commander-_

Wait, was this one from Nyra?

_Now that the camp has been established without the Guardians knowing, we have a perfect opportunity to keep troops closer to the battlefields for reinforcements and supplies. After the death of Kludd, my mate has started to plan out-_

Aysen re-read that. That didn't make sense... Kludd _was_ her mate...

_...my mate has started to plan out operations needed to defeat the Great Tree when it is time for our main forces to attack. When our true strength and force shadows over this land, those who refuse to join us, Pure Ones or not, will be slaughtered, or cast as a slave. And Commander? Try to be discreet of what to come. If the Guardians learns that there's more to us than meets the eye, they'll prepare themselves. I trust this with only the best of my officers like yourself. Any other soldiers captured may let it slip, which we cannot afford._

-Nyra

A mixed wave of feelings came over the snowy owl, skimming over the entire thing twice more. There was more, useless parts along the entire parchment, but that is what stood out to him. He didn't understand... What's worse than the Pure Ones? And was that a writing error about Nyra's mate, or was there really someone else? Questions kept filling his head. What was-

A hacked cough sounded throughout the hollow.

Dropping the document, Aysen stepped back for a moment, frightened but battle-ready. The body of the Commander started to move, before he sat up, narrowing his eyes as he tried to focus his blurry vision. Thank Glaux, Aysen thought, that he couldn't fight with those wounds that gashed down to bone. "Oh, brilliant, the Guardians are here..." He'd cough again."...'least I'd prefer you over them..."

Them... The attackers? It couldn't have been the darker forces of the Pure Ones, could it?

"'Them?'"

"The ones who attacked us, you daft Guardian." A snort came from the commander behind his mask. "Nyra warned me that he may have been involved... May have been watching us..."

"Who?!"

"She didn't tell me exactly who. She just told me that he and maybe some others would start fighting us in silence. And look what happened..." Again, he churred.

Aysen got closer, leaning his face in towards his. "How many were there?"

He was silent at first, before snickering. "Five."

"...Only five? That's a load of racdrops. You expect me to believe that five owls killed this entire camp?"

"If you want to believe the truth, then that's it." He'd shake his head, almost smirking at the edges of his beak. "He was one of them, and he trained the rest. If there's one thing I do know about him, it's that he's a killing machine..." A few more hacking coughs came, making a spurt of blood pump from a wound in his chest. "Ngh..."

Answers were needed. He had to keep this damn owl talking! Quickly, he pressed a few of the documents from earlier against the wound, keeping hard pressure. "Keep talking."

Again came a churr. As weak as it was, he'd shake of his head. "Yeah... Your precious Great Tree is gonna die, trust me on that... It'll burn."

"Not by you owls."

"No... Not by us." Surprisingly, he agreed. "By something worse... Something beyond owls..."

"Then what?" Aysen growled, leaning in and hissing, "What other than owls? Other than you...?"

The Commander was on his last seconds. He smirked again, eyes closing. "The same thing that's coming to clean up whatever's left here..."

And with that, no pulse was found. Slowly had Aysen let go, stepping back as he tried to make sense of it.. Cleaning up what's left here? Wait, no...

Whatever it was, it was coming to keep all evidence away from Guardian reach. And with that, kill him.

His squad was in danger.

"CAPTAIN!"

Taking off at full speed, he flapped his wings hard, moving back to where his captain had been. He landed there on the same perch as earlier- he was gone.

"Sprink... CAPTAIN?!" Aysen called out. He was panicking now. Oh, frinking hag!

Finally, his attention was caught, right where the captain had been perched earlier. There was a splatter of blood over it... And his eyes lowered to the forest floor, just in time to see the body of a great horned owl...

A sharp pain hit him in the back, and he lost he balance, falling down to the ground, thankfully cushioned by the body of his dead team leader. With a cry of pain, he felt the feathers along his back growing wet with his own blood. His own vision was blurring from the sudden blood loss and pain, body feeling woozy. He had to get up. No, he couldn't die here. Not like this. Gathering what strength he could, he rolled over off of the body, grunting as his chest hit the ground. Both feet attempted to move, trying to get the will to stand.

That was when something landed about twenty wingspans away from him, directly in front. Looking up, he saw it- a bird like himself, but not even an owl. Then again, he didn't even know what it was. It had the body from a mixture of a hawk and an eagle, and a wide beak as sharp as a sword. The scaly feet where big and predator-like, talons looking like they could bend metal by themselves. And then the feathers- they were like black at first glance, but closer inspection would show them instead as a very dark purple, patterns of blood red across his full form.

It stood their, head low to the ground, using blood-like eyes that'd been staring with a gaze that could burn holes into him. Wings spread, in an almost territorial stance, it hissed out at him, talons flexing in anticipation. It was a last resort- he couldn't move on his own at this rate. Damn it... He couldn't fight it, either, he was damn sure about that.

Suddenly it charged, and Aysen knew his life was done with. He couldn't watch this. His eyes closed tightly, ears hearing him wingspans away.

_...SHINK!_

The distinct sound of metal slicing through flesh, blood and bone came in addition to a wet splatter of blood that he could feel gushing to the right side of his face. There was no pain other than the gash in his back.

...Was he dead?

Gaining the courage to look, he opened his eyes to a surprising sight. The head of the fiend was laying upside down in front of him, facial expressions frozen in place. Then the body had been a few paces away. Taking a moment to process this, he looked beside him to see a tall, dark grey owl with mixtures and patterns of a light black, panting lightly. A mask was worn over his face, but it was a different design from the Pure Ones and Guardians. Across his side was a sheath that contained a sword, and his talons clad in expertly-crafted battle claws. What had been interesting, though, was that there were blades on the bone structure of his wings. The metal had been pieces together perfectly to let the air flow through them and bend with his wings as needed. Clever...

An eye glanced back to him through his blood-covered mask. An eerie light-blue glow to his hues. "Can you fly?"

Hesitantly, Aysen shook his head. The owl seemed to frown with a slight wince, before looking upwards and muttering something under his breath. That was when he'd look to him once more, moving close and pulling him to his feet.

"Are you able to fight at least?"

Grunting at the sting of the wound, he nodded. "I... I think I can defend myself... I won't last long with this wound, though."

"Turn around." He ordered quickly, and behind Aysen's back, he felt bandages being applied, wrapping it around his body tightly to keep blood from oozing. This owl was a fast worker, getting it properly done around him in seconds. "This should last a little while."

The shaking of leaves caught their attention, making Aysen look towards the source with wide eyes as his protector took up an offensive stance towards the same direction. Another beast, just like the last, had been perched not too far from them, screeching viscously and clicking its beak as it peered down over them. Then a second landed on another branch. Then another. And another. Soon enough, there were somewhere between six and nine of those things that surrounded them in an imperfect circle of perches. They were completely surrounded.

"Focus on staying alive." The owl whispered to him, backs to each other. "And I'll take care of killing them."

At this point, he didn't know how or if he was going to survive. Stay alive- that's all he needed to do.

After what seemed like ages, one of them in front of Aysen charged down from the perch, several more from different directions following. Right in front of him, the first one extended its talons and held them out to tear him to shreds. Instinctively, he ducked down under it, feeling the claws barely brushing through his feathers. Behind him, he could hear the flurry of metal on metal, sharp blades tearing through flesh and bone with wet blood splattering everywhere. It was hard to register what exactly was happening through all of the sounds.

A pair of strong talons grabbed both of his wings with an iron grip, lifting him up slightly off the ground. He flailed around in the beast's grip, but couldn't get out.

_'No, no no, keep yourself alive, Aysen...'_

There was a second one right in front of him, snapping its beak and screeching about a wingspan in front of him. Helplessly, he flailed his talons about, swiping his battle claws as he'd keep his eyes shut tightly when feeling the grip on his wings tightening up. The pain in his wings was excruciating, making him cry out in agony.

The grip loosened and he was dropped, not even knowing why- his mind was too busy screaming about the aching in his wings to realize what else was going on around him. He laid out on the ground, paralyzed out of shock. It felt like days had passed by where he was, gazing over the grass that wavered before him.

When the numbness left him, he started to crawl before moving over onto his back. All of those things were dead, he could see, and that owl wasn't far from him. Making his way towards Aysen, he winced slightly, and the white-faced noticed a few large gashed in his body slowly losing blood.

"Glad your alive..." He said easily, "And, thanks for the help."

Wait, what?

"...Help?"

The owl nodded.

"You killed two of them."

He did...?

"I... I did?"

He'd follow the direction of a talon that the owl pointed, seeing two of the carcasses next to him. It was the same two that'd been attacking him- one had its face and neck slashed open, and the other's belly was ripped open. Now he realized that his battle claws were indeed ripping blood with some feathers caught on them... He did kill them...

Standing up shakily, Aysen never looked off of the two bodies, breathing in and out heavily in an attempt to calm himself... But he just turned his head and yarped a pellet right out.

"Ungh... Sorry about that..."

"Apology unnecessary." The other male stated assuringly with a nod. "I take it you've never killed something before?"

Still breathing and staring at the dead, he shook his head. "First time..."

With a nod, he stepped by Aysen's side and placed a wing on his shoulder. "I see... Nonetheless, I'm sorry for your team. I found the rest of them dead and came here just in time to see the first one getting ready to kill you... I acted on instinct, though." That was when he frowned, "I came back to make sure there were no survivors and instead came to you and these fiends..."

Realization slowly hit him. "Wait..." Aysen stepped back, looking up at him, "_You_ killed these Pure Ones?"

Nodding, he chuckled, "Yes... Me and the other four- a few I've been training... The brutal ones are me, though."

A shiver of fear came over him... The commander was telling the truth about there being five, and this was the leader he mentioned.

"I'm afraid, though, things are about to change..." Looking to Aysen again, he stretched out his wings. "I'm gonna need your help... It's important. What's your name?"

"Aysen."

The owl smirked.

"Well, Aysen... My name's Zarko."

* * *

**For those who read the old version of this story, you can already see that some things are different and the same- Aysen, though, is a newer character. I later came up with the idea of making him feminine though to add that sense of realism to where not everyone is just the same in their appearance and all.**

**Nonetheless, I had a long-ass month of traveling and dealing with personal stuff... I hope you all enjoyed! Now to think on what to do for Chapter 5...**


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